Alchemy of the Heart is a pocketbook on giving and receiving more love. Written by Elizabeth Clare Prophet and Patricia R. Spadaro (authors of The Art of Practical Spirituality and Your Seven Energy Centers), it contains wonderful quotes and prayers.

Each chapter subsection begins with a spiritual quote and ends with 'Heart Perspectives' which give you advice for applying the information to your life. There are five chapters total: Opening the Heart, Empowering the Heart, Healing the Heart, Guarding the Heart, and Entering the Heart.

Two of the questions that are asked during the first chapter are: 'How can I open my heart and freely share my love with others?' and 'How can I heal my own heart from the pain of the past and expand my capacity to love?' These questions are a good indication of what this book is all about.

Prophet and Spadaro use stories throughout the book to show you how different people have solved a crisis related to the heart. We hear about every day people learning to love themselves and receive love from others. In simple words, we see how individuals like Mother Theresa, Gandhi, and Saint Francis were able to make choices to focus on love and compassion and change the world around them. The anecdotes are great because we can see real people with modern problems as well as saints and spiritual healers.

The tone of the book is gentle and non-judgmental. It is about opening our thoughts and taking a look at how we act and react to situations. Are we in the flow of love or are we holding on to hurt, anger, and frustration?

I think this book is a good gift and is perfect for reading on a short trip or a calm afternoon. The excercises ask you to make the extra effort to show compassion to others and to look into your hurts to see the deeper meaning of the love you gave another. Prophet shows us that when we love anyone, we are really giving our love to God/the Universe.

The prayers included are useful, though some are a bit hokey because of the rhymes used. I love the quotes though and the introductory statements before each chapter.

Here is the one for the chapter Healing with the Heart:
'Healing the heart begins with mercy--extending mercy to others, extending mercy to ourselves. It begins with affirming that we are in control of our destiny. No matter what we have done, no matter what we have experienced, we can transcend ourselves. We can learn to master the creative flow of energy through our heart.'